Integrated power supply and modulator for radio frequency power amplifiers

1. An integrated power supply and modulator system having an input configured to receive a DC input voltage and having an output configured to supply two or more regulated DC output voltages, the integrated power supply and modulator system comprising: a switched-capacitor (SC) voltage balancer circuit having a plurality of SC voltage balancer circuit inputs and a plurality of SC voltage balancer circuit outputs, said SC voltage balancer circuit configured to receive charge from a regulated DC input voltage and, in response thereto, maintain a substantially ratiometric set of regulated voltages on a plurality of intermediate voltage nodes with respect to a reference potential, the SC voltage balancer circuit comprising: a capacitor stack comprising a plurality of capacitors, wherein each of the intermediate voltage nodes is coupled to at least one of the plurality of capacitors, a first set of switches configured to switch between on and off states in a complimentary fashion with a second set of switches to maintain the substantially ratiometric set of voltages on the plurality of intermediate voltage nodes, and a set of transfer capacitors configured to transfer charge among the plurality of capacitors of the capacitor stack as the first and second sets of switches are switched.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a magnetic regulation stage (MRS) having an MRS input corresponding to the integrated power supply and modulator system input and configured to receive the DC input voltage and at least one MRS output configured to provide a regulated DC output voltage with each SC voltage balancer circuit input coupled to a corresponding one of the at least one MRS outputs.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the MRS further comprises: an inductor having an input terminal corresponding to the MRS input and having an output terminal; and a set of switches configured to selectively couple the output terminal of the inductor between the intermediate voltage nodes in the SC voltage balancer circuit and wherein the MRS is configured to provide charge transfer from the MRS input through the inductor to at least one of the plurality of SC voltage balancer circuit inputs and wherein regulation of the SC voltage balancer voltages is obtained by pulse width modulation (PWM) control of the set of switches.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the SC voltage balancer circuit is provided having k levels and the output of the MRS is connected between the m th level and the n th level of the SC voltage balancer circuit with k>m>n such that k corresponds to a k th intermediate voltage node having the greatest voltage among the intermediate voltage nodes and wherein a voltage at the k th intermediate voltage node V k is regulated as: V k = V IN · k n + ( m - n ) ⁢ D where: V IN is an input voltage applied to the input of the MRS; k is an integer value corresponding to the k th intermediate voltage node of the SC voltage balancer circuit; n is an integer value corresponding to the n th intermediate voltage node to which the output of the MRS is connected; m is an integer value corresponding to the m th intermediate voltage node of the SC voltage balancer circuit to which the output of the MRS is connected; and D is the duty of a first switch in the set of switches having a terminal connected to the k th intermediate voltage node of the SC voltage balancer circuit.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the switching frequency of the set of switches in the MRS is different from the switching frequency of the first set of switches in the SC voltage balancer circuit.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the first and second sets of switches and the set of transfer capacitors are configured as an SC ladder circuit.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of intermediate voltage nodes includes a highest-voltage node at a top of the capacitor stack and a lowest-voltage node at a bottom of the capacitor stack.

8. The system of claim 5 , wherein: at least one output switching stale (OSS) comprises a plurality of switch sets, each switch set having a corresponding output, wherein each switch set is configured to selectively couple a voltage from a selected one of the voltage nodes of the SC voltage balancer circuit to a corresponding output, wherein the plurality of switch sets includes at least a first switch set and a second switch set that operate independently of one another.

9. The system of claim 4 further comprising: control circuitry to control the MRS, the SC voltage balancer circuit, and at least one output switching stage (OSS), wherein the control circuitry is configured to control states of switches within the MRS to selectively achieve at least two of boost conversion, buck conversion, and buck/boost conversion within the MRS, wherein the control circuitry is configured to achieve desired voltages on the plurality of intermediate voltage nodes of the SC voltage balancer circuit, in part, by selecting one of boost or buck conversion for the MRS and by setting switching duty cycles for switches of the MRS.

10. The system of claim 2 , wherein: the MRS is configured for both boost and buck regulation; and the first and the second set of switches and the set of transfer capacitors are configured as an SC ladder circuit.

11. The system of claim 1 further comprising: at least one output switching stage (OSS) having a plurality of OSS inputs and at least one OSS output configured to provide two or more regulated DC output voltages with each OSS input simultaneously coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of SC voltage balancer circuit outputs.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein: the OSS further comprises a plurality of switch sets, each switch set having a corresponding output, wherein each switch set of the plurality of switch sets is configured to selectively couple a voltage from a selected one of the intermediate voltage nodes of the SC voltage balancer circuit to a corresponding output, wherein the plurality of switch sets includes at least a first switch set and a second switch set that operate independently of one another.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising: at least one filter coupled to the output of at least one of the plurality of switch sets of the OSS to provide filtration to a corresponding voltage signal.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the SC voltage balancer circuit is provided having k nodes and k voltage levels and an output of the MRS is connected between the m th node and the n th node of the SC voltage balancer circuit with k>m>n such that k corresponds to a k th intermediate voltage node having the greatest voltage among the intermediate nodes and wherein a voltage at the k th intermediate voltage node Vk is regulated as: Vk=VIN·k/n+(m−n) D where: VIN is an input voltage applied to an input of the MRS; k is an integer value corresponding to the k th intermediate voltage node of the SC voltage balancer circuit; n is an integer value corresponding to the nt h intermediate voltage node to which the output of the MRS is connected; m is an integer value corresponding to the m th intermediate voltage node of the SC voltage balancer circuit to which the output of the MRS is connected; and D is the duty of a first switch in the set of switches having a terminal connected to the km intermediate voltage node of the SC voltage balancer circuit; and wherein the switching frequency of the set of switches in the MRS and the switching frequency of the first set of switches in the SC voltage balancer circuit are different from the switching frequency of the switches in the plurality of switch sets in the output switching stage.

15. An integrated power supply and modulator system having an input configured to receive a DC input voltage and having an output configured to supply two or more regulated DC output voltages, the integrated power supply and modulator system comprising: a magnetic regulation stage (MRS) having an input corresponding to the integrated power supply and modulator system input and configured to receive the DC input voltage and a plurality of outputs configured to provide a regulated DC output voltage with each switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage input coupled to a corresponding one of the at least one MRS outputs; the switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage having a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs with each input of said switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of outputs of said magnetic regulation stage; and at least one output switching stage having a plurality of inputs and at least one output with each input of said output switching stage simultaneously coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of outputs of said switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage, wherein said magnetic regulation stage comprises an inductor and a set of switches, wherein magnetic regulation stage provides charge transfer from the input of the magnetic regulation stage through the inductor to at least one input of the switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage.

16. The integrated power supply and modulator system of claim 15 further comprising at least one or more power amplifier stages, each of the one or more power amplifier stages coupled to each of the at least one outputs of said output switching stage, wherein energy is provided into the system via the magnetic regulation stage and is delivered to each of at least one power amplifier stages via the output switching stage.

17. The integrated power supply and modulator system of claim 15 further comprising precharge circuitry, feedback circuitry and control circuitry wherein: the precharge circuitry comprises at least one of a linear regulator and a clamp circuit, the precharge circuitry coupled to the switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage and configured to precharge and limit transients to one or more capacitors of the switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage; and the feedback circuitry is coupled to the control circuitry and at least one of the plurality of outputs of the switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage, the feedback circuitry configured to provide at least one feedback signal to the control circuitry.

18. The integrated power supply and modulator system of claim 17 wherein said control circuitry comprises a pulse width modulation (PWM) circuit which provides pulse width modulation control of said magnetic regulation stage to regulate at least one switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage voltage.

19. The integrated power supply and modulator system of claim 15 wherein said switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage comprises a switched-capacitor (SC) ladder circuit.

20. The integrated power supply and modulator system of claim 19 wherein said switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage comprises: first and second sets of switches S 1A , S 2A , S 3A , S 4A , wherein the first set of switches actuates and off together in a complementary fashion with the second set of switches S 1B , S 2B , S 3B , S 4B ; a set of transfer capacitors C T1 -C TN ; and a set of charge capacitors C 1 -C N , wherein said transfer capacitors operate to transfer charge among said charge capacitors so as to maintain a desired set of voltage ratios V 1 :V 2 :V 3 :V 4 .

21. The integrated power supply and modulator system of claim 15 wherein: said switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage provides one or more capacitor terminal voltages via a set of charge capacitors; and each of said at least one output switching stage dynamically selects from among the one or more capacitor terminal voltages provided in said switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage.

22. The integrated power supply and modulator system of claim 15 wherein semiconductor circuit elements of said magnetic regulation stage, said switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage, and said at least one output switching stage are implemented using a semiconductor process on a single die.

23. The integrated power supply and modulator system of claim 15 wherein semiconductor circuits of said magnetic regulation stage, said switched-capacitor voltage balancer stage, and said at least one output switching stage are provided from a low-voltage CMOS semiconductor process on a single die.

24. An integrated power supply and modulator system having an input configured to receive a DC input voltage and having an output configured to supply, two or more regulated DC output voltages, the integrated power supply and modulator system comprising: a magnetic regulation stage, a multi-output switched-capacitor stage; and an output switching stage wherein: said magnetic regulation stage comprising an inductor and at least two switches, wherein the magnetic regulation stage is configured to draw charge from an input and to provide charge to at least two input terminals of said multi-output switched-capacitor stage, wherein said magnetic regulation stage is configured to provide charge transfer from said input through said inductor to at least one of the at least two input terminals based upon states of the at least two switches; said multi-output switched-capacitor stage is configured to accept charge from said at least two input terminals and redistribute charge to maintain a substantially ratiometric set of voltages between individual capacitor terminals and a reference potential; and said output switching stage comprises at least one switch to select from among at least two voltages of said ratiometric set of voltages of said multi-output switched-capacitor stage for provision to an output.

25. The integrated power supply and modulator of claim 24 wherein said magnetic regulation stage switches among at least two states in order to regulate one or more voltages in the multi-output switched-capacitor stage.

26. The integrated power supply and modulator of claim 25 , wherein said output switching stage selects voltages from among the outputs of the multi-output switched-capacitor stage to provide an intermediate modulated voltage.

27. The integrated power supply and modulator of claim 26 , further comprising a filter disposed to shape voltage transitions among levels.

28. An integrated power supply and discrete drain modulator system configured to provide a DC bias voltage to a terminal of a radio frequency (RE) power amplifier, the system comprising: a multi-output switched-capacitor voltage balancer having a plurality of inputs; a magnetic regulation stage comprising an inductive element comprising (i) an input configured to receive a DC input voltage, and (ii) an output coupled simultaneously to respective ones of the plurality of inputs of the multi-output switched-capacitor voltage balancer to provide charge transfer from said magnetic regulation stage inputs through the inductor to respective ones of the plurality of inputs of said multi-output switched-capacitor voltage balancer; wherein each input of the multi-output switched-capacitor voltage balancer corresponds to one of a plurality of intermediate modulated voltages of the multi-output switched-capacitor voltage balancer, the multi-output switched-capacitor voltage balancer comprising: a plurality of switches; and a plurality of capacitors, wherein each of the plurality of outputs of the magnetic regulation stage are modulated to maintain the plurality of intermediate modulated voltages as a substantially ratiometric set of regulated DC voltages between individual capacitors of the plurality of capacitors of the multi-output switched-capacitor voltage balancer and a reference potential; and an output switching stage comprising at least one switch and at least one capacitor, the at least one switch configured to select from among at least two voltages of the plurality of intermediate modulated voltages and apply the at least two voltages to the at least one capacitor for provision as at least one modulated DC output voltage, wherein the at least one modulated DC output voltage is provided to the terminal of the RF power amplifier.